1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surgical instruments such as trocars for use in insertion of surgical access devices, such as access cannulas. Particularly, the present invention is directed to such insertion devices having a transparent tip to allow visualization of tissue being penetrated.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of devices and methods are known in the art for insertion of surgical access devices, such as surgical cannulas in minimally-invasive surgical procedures. Of such devices, many are configured to puncture a patient's abdominal wall. Most of such insertion devices are fully solid and opaque, so a surgeon cannot easily visually differentiate between layers of the abdominal wall and internal abdominal organs.
Some insertion devices have been developed that include a transparent tip or an integral endoscope While such devices can offer improved guidance to a surgeon over those with no means for visualization, such devices can be relatively complex, difficult to manufacture, and therefore can be expensive. Accordingly, there still remains a need in the art for an insertion device that is capable of visually guiding puncture of an abdominal wall and, optionally, concurrent insertion of a surgical access device. There further remains a need for such a device that is relatively inexpensive and easy to fabricate. The present invention provides a solution for these foregoing problems.